We have now reached the top five of our 2024 Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings, and we’re kicking things off with a deep dive into David Reinbacher’s rather complicated 2023-24 season. To qualify for the list, Habs prospects must be 23 years old or younger, and have fewer than 100 NHL games under their belt.

Previously Published 2024 Montreal Canadiens Summer Prospect Rankings

Players Who Missed The Cut And Prospects Ranked No.40 to No.31

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.30 to No.26

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.25 to No.21

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.20 to No.16

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.15 to No.11

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.10 to No.6

5. David Reinbacher, Defenceman, 19, Kloten HC (NL)/Laval Rocket (AHL), 6’03”, 210 lb. Picked 5th overall in 2023.

We’ve reached one of the most polarizing players in the system, defenceman David Reinbacher. There’s certainly a portion of the fan base that is still discussing whether the Canadiens should have picked him rather than a high-end forward, but many of their concerns were put to bed when the Habs picked phenom Ivan Demidov fifth overall at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

However, the polarizing aspect we’re discussing today is his play in Switzerland throughout the 2023-24 season. On the surface, it was the epitome of a wasted development season. Reinbacher finished the year with one goal and 10 assists in 35 games, with the lone goal taking place while the opposing team had pulled their goaltender. To make matters worse, once we had an opportunity to watch him play a reasonable amount of games, it was clear that Reinbacher wasn’t playing his best hockey. His mobility was reduced, his offensive instincts seemed to have disappeared, and his decision-making was questionable, at best.

An injury early in the season was the main cause of many of his issues, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Kloten was the hockey equivalent of when the city of Oregon decided to blow up a beached whale with a comical amount of dynamite: a stinky mess. Not only did they not have the personnel to compete with the rest of the NL, Kloten also fired two head coaches throughout the season, which meant that Reinbacher had to adapt to three different coaching staffs in just one year. It’s worth pointing out Kloten would have been relegated to the Swiss League if not for a complicated situation that allowed them to stay in the NL, however, that very same situation meant that Reinbacher was available to be loaned to the Laval Rocket earlier, as Kloten team did not have to play any of their relegation games.

The lack of consistency was a significant hurdle for the young defenceman, and with the benefit of hindsight, allowing him to play in Switzerland was a decision that backfired spectacularly, but he did improve his play once he had fully recovered from his injury. For additional information and details regarding his statistical improvements, I would suggest taking a look at Thibaud Chatel’s deep dive into Reinbacher’s results. We can also take a look at his shot chart, which connotes there was not much luck involved when it came to his shooting efficiency last season, despite an uptick in overall shots per game.

David Reinbacher Joins The Laval Rocket

While many of us stuck to our argument that playing for a team like Kloten was a terrible situation for a young defenceman, we also held our collective breath once Reinbacher joined the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. It wasn’t a matter of losing faith in his abilities, but going from the NL to the AHL is quite a jump in quality of competition. Furthermore, Reinbacher had already played a professional season in Switzerland, which is very taxing on a young body that hasn’t quite had the chance to acclimatize to a rigorous season.

Reinbacher quickly put the concerns to rest by scoring on his first shot in the AHL, a beautiful game-tying goal that involved a perfectly-timed deke, an aggressive approach, and great shot selection. Playing with better teammates certainly helped Reinbacher, though I’d suggest a renewed sense of confidence was also a major factor in his great play for the Rocket.

He finished the year with two goals and three assists in just 11 games, which comes out to a 13-goal, 20-assist prorated season (72 games). That would have been good enough for sixth overall in the AHL last season among rookie defencemen. It wasn’t a mind-numbing result, but it was very encouraging, especially since he had to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire by facing players who did not have to press reset four times during the season.

On top of quickly adjusting to the offensive aspect of North American hockey, which included producing several nice breakout passes, Reinbacher look very good in his own zone. His positioning was much better than anything I saw during his time in Switzerland. Opposing players had a hard time gaining the zone while he was on the ice, and if they did manage to enter, Reinbacher used his impressive wing span to deny them a scoring opportunity with an active stick. This continued in the remaining games of his short time in the AHL, making it a successful audition considering what he had gone through before he arrived in Canada.

David Reinbacher Going Forward

While I maintain we shouldn’t judge Reinbacher by his injured season that included three coaches in Switzerland, we should also avoid putting too much stock into his play with the Rocket. A strong start to his professional career in Canada is encouraging, but he didn’t play enough to give us great insight as to his long-term potential. More than anything, it showed us his development had not been completely derailed in his one difficult season with Kloten.

Reinbacher is also a perfect example of how judging a prospect by a cursory look at their production is not an ideal approach to player analysis. I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it another 100 times before everyone gets sick of hearing it, but context is everything when it comes to how hockey players perform.

One of the major boons heading into next season will be Reinbacher’s access to the team’s development coaches. They will be able to spend ample time improving his timing when defending the rush, as well as his play without the puck, which can lead to some puck watching while he’s on the ice. They’ll also help him fine tune his strong points, including his natural offensive instincts, his great stick work, and special teams play.

As for where he’ll play next season, we know for a fact it will be in Canada, a step in the right direction. There will be an opportunity to earn a job in the NHL now that fellow right-handed defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic has been traded to the New Jersey Devils, but we’re not quite at the point where we can safely project him to be a full-time member of the Canadiens defensive core. He’ll probably need a little more time in the AHL to adapt to the speed of play before graduating to the NHL.